Page 6 May 1985 Cassiar Courier May 3, 1985, marks the tenth anniversary of cable broadcasting in Cassiar. The first movie ever shown on the cable channel was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on May 3, 1975. It started right on time; everything looked great. Then suddenly at 6:03 p.m. screens around town went blank. Werner Schneeberger and his son Peter scrambled about with their equipment for three hours trying to get the system going again. By 9 p.m. the repairs had been made and the movie was back on the air. Cassiar had join- ed the modern age in communications. Mr. Werner Schneeberger, the outspoken and some- times controversial owner/operator of WSTV, Cassiar’s cable television station, talked with us recently about the beginnings of our local system and how it is helping to lessen the isolation of the north. Werner came to Cassiar in 1970 as a heavy duty mechanic. He was joined shortly by his wife, Kathrina and their three children. His interest in electronics was always keen and his hobby soon grew into a business, ‘’WS Electronics” which sold and repaired electronic equip- ment from his home. The hobby grew even further when Telesat Canada first put up a CBC North satellite dish in Cassiar in 1972. Werner was asked to monitor it. This proved to be a valuable learning experience for Werner. The concept was so new that there were frequent problems requiring hours of system checks and tests to improve reception. As CBC got better ideas so did Werner. He began to plan a cable T.V. system that would pro- vide a wider range of choices to Cassiar viewers. At the time there was nothing but CBC North available on sat- ellite this far north. Werner’s cable plan involved getting video-taped movies and other programs made for him by a private company in Vancouver. These were done on %” video-tape in a slow and costly process, which although “state-of-the-art” at the time is now quite archaic. He approached then Cassiar Mine Manager, Brian Pew- sey, with his proposal and was met with great enthusiasm. The next step was to make application to the CRTC for a license . This he did but was refused. ‘“‘They told me | was going against copyright laws by taping programs. and selling them,” said Werner, ‘but in Whitehorse they were doing the same thing with the CRTC’s approval.”’ Brian Pewsey was very supportive in trying to secure a license for Cassiar’s cable system. He enlisted the aid of area MP, lona Campagnola, to lobby for our community in Ottawa. Said Werner, ‘’ Those two did everything in their power by writing letters and talking to officials for months trying to persuade the government to see the need for a cable T.V. system in Cassiar.’’ _The CRTC refused to change it’s position and finally with Mrs. Campagnola’s advice to “just go ahead with it and see what happens” Werner went on the air. Cassiarites now had a choice of T.V. channels; CBC on channel 5 or movies on channel 3. ‘ Always an avid reader of electronics trade magazines and similar publications, Werner was very excited by the Cassiar Country by Joan Cass Werner Schneeberger INTHE WSTV STUDIO launch of the American Alaska Feed satellite in 1976, and saw it as an opportunity for Cassiar to have live satellite T. V. as well. Things were getting a little cramped at his trailer by this time however, with his T.V. studio, his bus- iness and his family. It was time to move to new premises, especially if he wanted to expand the studio. In 1977 he began construction of a new building on Bateman Street. In October 1978, he purchased his first satellite dish. It took some time to become familiar with it. “First you just point it toward the satellite and hope for the best,’ said Werner, “but then the fine tuning can take forever. Those satellites are 23280 miles up. Even the slightest angle of the dish can make a lot of difference.” By December of that year however, Cassiar had live satellite broadcasts of American programming. At first, trusted supporters like Brian Pewsey and Peter Jones were very skeptical, but once they saw the picture coming through in the studio, they were delighted.” Werner had been broadcasting illegally all this time, but had never tried to hide what he was doing. He kept in constant contact with other cable operators and with the CRTC, always trying to get licensed and to improve the quality of television available in the north. Brian Pewsey and lona Campagnola were immensely helpful to his cause. They continued to lobby for him whenever possible and Brian Pewsey even went to Ottawa to petition the CRTC on Werner’s behalf. Now that he was broadcasting American T.V., Werner became even more outspoken. He attended a CRTC hearing in Prince George in Dec- ember 1979 that was intended for Fort St. John, Dawson CURLING CLUB NEWS The Curling Club has come to the close of another very active season. During March we held our Annual Bon- spiel which was a great success due to the work of Karen Brocklebank and her bonspiel committee, with a great deal of assistance from our bar committee and socials and snack bar people. Many thanks to all who helped with the Annual and with the April Ethnic Bonspiel. Just after the Annual, the junior curlers held a bonspiel with teams coming from Watson Lake, Dease Lake, and Good Hope Lake. This First Annual Bonspiel was a great success. Congratulations to all the kids and adults who were involved. : Our final social and prize presentation is scheduled for May 4, 1985. PPPS OOSS COSCO OOOO 00O000000000000000000000000009 00S HOLT AGENCIES C L INSURANCE LTD. R.A.S.P.’ s— 10 3/47 Contents, Tenants, Fire Insurance 1.C.B.C. (Auto Plan) Life Insurance DPPPPDPSOSOGIDVS SPS SIGHSBWOOID9O OD =a Hours: : ’ ’ 4 iS 164 Elliott St. Cassiar, B.C. 778-7220 9:30-5:30 Mon. Annuities Fri. Be retary is age i Co Sap -2* ees Creek and Puece Coupe only. He submitted a brief entit- led ‘‘ The Need For Television Receiving Only Stations In The North ”, Karen Clark had helped him in preparing the submission but they had not really expected that it would be accepted, being that Cassiar was such a remote little community. It was. Said Werner,’’ After presenting my paper, | turned to the chairman and said, “Sir, | am re- ceiving American programming in Cassiar. What do you in- tend to do about it?” All they could tell me was that it was illegal. They would do nothing about it.” “From then on, | attended hearings all over the North and in Western Canada.! was in Ottawa for the final con- ference in which the commission at last made up it’s mind to ask for proposals to provide Canadian satellite pro- gramming. CANCOM was selected and in my mind they had the best selection to offer. In 1980 satellite BleN ision at last became legal in Canada.” Werner subscribed immediately and was finally granted a license by the CRTC in December 1980. He continued to tap into the American satellites as well, however, in an effort to provide what he considers to be the best program- ming available. Over the years he has continually been ad- ding receivers, modulators and dishes to the point where we now have 10 channels. Things are always being updated at the WSTV studio. It is an exciting place to visit for the electronics buff. Our local community channel 8 for instance has been operated by four different computers since it’s inception. In the beginning it was run by an Interac 16K model which was replaced several times until the TRS80 64K Extended model that now runs the system was installed. All the in- formation is digital and since January 1984 it has carried over 1100 pages of community advertising. Over the last two years all of the cable around town has been replaced with the latest 4-12 oaxyl cable capable of carrying more than 330 channels if need be. ‘We are ready to move with the times, ‘’ says Werner, “’ It’s very exciting to be in a field Mere the technology is so new. | love it. It’s what makes me tick, to have a hand in developing new com- munication systems.” Other than through his business ventures, Werner has always been active in community events and planning. He was chairman of the Town Council for several years dur- ing the 1970's when the side-walks were laid and when the first official dog pound was constructed. He is always gen- erous with his studio for community events and for the past few years has run the Cassiar Student Society fund raising auction, a live television production that lasts from early afternoon till late in the evening on channel 8. He loves the north country and feels that if we all got together it could become an even better place to live.’It would be wonderful to see us Gassiarites band together to form a lobby group to get the government to provide cheaper electricty and a railway line in our region. It would really open up this country and ensure a better quality of life for all.” Postalk To the people of Cassiar and outlying residents. Here is a schedule of the hours of operation of the Cassiar Post Office. They are: Monday-Friday: 8:30 a.m.—1:00 p.m. 2:00 p.m.—5:30 p.m. (only wicket is closed at lunch) Saturday: 8:30 a.m.—12:30 p.m. Counter and wicket service Lobby open ‘til 5:30 p.m. for box holders The mail arrives at our office and is sorted on the following day by about 10:30 a.m., depending on the volume of mail, on Thursdays, Saturdays and Mondays. We always get mail from Watson Lake and Whitehorse every other day. The mail leaves our office on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. If you have mail to go out on those days it should be in our office by the following times or it doesn’t go out: Registered and Priority Post by 11:00 a.m. Special Delivery, 1st Class mail and parcels by 11:30 a.m. We also have the mail from Watson Lake leave our office every day. On Saturdays all mail should be in by 12:00 noon. Would all box holders please note that if they don't bring their keys with them, we are not responsible for giving them their mail. Note there are always a few regulars who don’t bring their keys. The rest of the people are great and do. | hope this helps the people who are not yet famil- iar with our hours. Thank you. Cassiar Post Office Staff Watson Lake Wins First Annual by Shawn Penno On the weekend of March 22, the Junior Curling members hosted the first Junior Curling Bonspiel in Cas- siar, with teams from Dease Lake, Good Hope Lake, Wat- son Lake and Cassiar. The draw was a round-robin with the top two teams of Group A and the top two teams from Group B going into a sudden death play-off for 1st and 2nd place in each event. Curling resumed on Saturday at 8:00 a.m. and went through the day with a break for lunch. At 6:00 p.m. there was a pot-luck dinner for the hungry curlers. After supper and some conversation, the curlers danced from 8:00 p.m. to midnight. The dance was a success with about 40 people, which almost crowded the small curl- ing club lounge. The finals were held the next day. First place in the: A Event went to Skip Nathan Kalles, Third Jeff Kalles; Second Phillip Mitchie and Lead Alana Larsen from Watson Lake. Cassiar team with Skip Liz Gwilliam, Third Bobbie Joe Liddle, Second Robert Rudkowsky and Lead Jennifer Becket placed second in the A Event. Winners in the B Event were Skip Aaron Kalles, Third Wendy Dev- ries, Second Clint Ireland and Lead Vickie Devries from Watson Lake. Cassiar team with Skip Teresa Bartell, Third Trevor Joseph, Second Nicole Deyo and Lead Janet Pinto placed second in the B Event. Skips for the five Cassiar teams were Liz Gwilliam, Shawn Penno, Lisa Joseph, Rob Best and Teresa Bartell. Dease Lake brought three teams, Good Hope Lake two teams and two teams also came from Watson Lake. The Cassiar Junior Curling Club would like to thank the following businesses for their support: Brinco Ltd. for donating A Event prizes Cassiar Community Club for donating A and B Event trophies Finning Tractor for donating B Event prizes Also, we would like to thank the long list ot people in Cassiar who donated their time and skills to make this bonspiel a huge success. Public Health News ** Marlene Hogg, Public Health Nurse for this area, has office hours in Cassiar the second and fourth Tues- day each month. The hours are 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Phone for an appointment or just drop in. The dates are: May 7 and 21 June 11 and 21 The Public Health office will be closed tani the month of July. Parents of preschool children: are your kids immunized against measles? Did you know that measles is one of the most serious childhood diseases? And one of the most contagious? Most preschoolers are immunized against measles, but one in five is not. From April 29 to May 10 a special campaign to immunize preschoolers is being held throughout B.C. Take advantage of this opportunity to protect « your children. Most of us think measles means nothing more than having red spots on your face for a couple of days. But measles can be very dangerous to a child’s health. In fact, one child in one thousand who gets measles will also get brain inflammation which can lead to mental retardation. And, tragically,.one child in 3,000 with measles will die. Fortunately, measles is easily prevented. Just one shot should give a lifetime of protection. Any child over 12 months old should be immunized. If your child has not been immunized, contact your local public health nurse today. LIBRARY NEWS — The hours of the Cassiar Library are as follows: Sunday: 2—4p.m. UE (Sahih Monday: 6 — 8 p.m. Tuesday: 2—4p.m. | Wednesday: 6 -—8p.m. Thursday : 2—4p.m. Friday: . 6 — 8 p.m. : PD lef Junior Curling Bonspiel First place A Event winners (I. to r.) Nathan Kalles, Jeff Kalles, Philip Mitchie and Alana Larsen from Watson Lake. _>econd place A Event winners (I. to r.) Liz Gwilliam, “Bobbie Joe Liddle, Robert es and Jennifer BESS from Cassiar. McDame Gun Club Plans More Events The McDame Gun Club’s general meeting was held Sunday, April 15, and there were several topics discussed. One of which is to start more membership activities, possibily a shoot a month, with points towards a year end trophy. The members also discussed the need for a shelter out at the gun range and possibly keeping the range open all year round. These items and many more will be discussed at the next meeting on May 5th. Come out and find out for yourself what new activities are being planned. 778-1345 775 Malozemoft ciros EHoto Passport Pictures, Camera Repairs, Weddings and Special Events, B.and W. Darkroom Finishing $1059.00 RETURN VANCOUVER— MALAGA 59 3} 1 1 1 Cassiar Courier May 1985 Page 7 Ptarmigan Playnouse The Ptarmigan Players got together to perform “A Spaghetti Western ” for this year’s Lasagne Dinner at the Rec Centre on March 31. It was a mime spoof designed to look like a silent movie with the nimble fingers of Gigie McGlynn tickling the ivories to set the mood for the ac- tion. * Michelle Korhonen played Sweet Sue, the heroine op- posite Glen Whittington who played Brent Noble, the hero. There was a dashing band of evil doers led by Chuck Molloy as Terrible Ted and Walter Comper as Mean Man- ual. Poor hapless Doc was played by June Evans. Of course there were the dancing girls: Norma Rae, Bev Storey and Mary Comper and the irrepressible owner of the Spaghetti Saloon, Mama Mia, played by Marg Whalen. Sonja Willits and Cookie Boyes handled the cards which explained the action and urged the audience to participate, Joan Cass and Janet Adcock directed. All had a great time and the audience was wonderfully responsive. Although the Dinner Theatre originally scheduled to take place this spring had to be cancelled due to the il- Iness of our director, we are still active in preparing other productions. We are always glad to see new members. Our next meeting will be held on May 5, 7:30 p.m. in the Up- per Leisure Room. Gymnastics The Jade Mountain Gymnastics Club will be pur- chasing new equipment this spring for use By the club next season. The club’s executive has approved the purchase of a vaulting horse and super board, eight mats, a balance beam, chalk stand and chalk. Funds for the equipment include $2100 received from the Cassiar Community Club and monies received from the sale of the Cassiar Country Cookbook as well as other fund raising events. A banquet to celebrate the Gymnastics Club’s suc- cessful season was held April 25th. Coaches Pauline Snell and Joan John are looking forward to using the new equipment next season which will get underway in the fall. ne eS TWINS Obviously, twins make perfect models for control test- ing in psychological and sociological research. There have been many astounding studies which show the results of the intimacy that develops between twins, even to the point that when they have been raised apart, they will still experience many of the same events in the lives, This con- nection is mysterious even to researchers. Although it oc- curs more with identical twins than with fraternals, there is always a special relationship between twins. Whether it lasts for their whole lives or not, sharing life with another individual from the very beginning, does give a unique per- spective that those of us who are born single can wonder about but never really understand. continued from page 5. studio ervel Travel Service Tid! 164 Elliot Street Cassiar (Trailer next to Curling Rink) 778 - 7220 Hours: 9:30 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. AE $199.00 RETURN VANCOUVER-— LOS ANGELES till MAY 30, 1985 $209.00 RETURN VANCOUVER— LOS ANGELES SILVERWING HOLIDAYS | till JUNE 30, 1985 WARDAIR | (8 or 15 DAYS DURATION ) | %